Biological Explanation for Substance Misuse

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  • Created by: katie
  • Created on: 14-05-15 15:20
What 3 points should be mentioned in this explanation?
mu-opioid receptors, susceptibility to substance misuse and the 'addictive gene' (mu-opioid gene)
1 of 10
Outline the mu-opioid receptors element of this explanation
Mu-opioid receptors are thought to be linked to addiction and it has been found that drugs activate these receptors suggesting why people become addicted
2 of 10
Outline the addictive gene element of this explanation
said that an addictive gene/mu-opioid gene is passed genetically from parents to their offspring. if this is correct it will mean that if one MZ twin develops an addiction the other one will too because share 100% of their DNA
3 of 10
Outline the susceptibility to substance misuse element of this explanation
people with low levels of dopamine/serotonin more susceptible to addiction because of the fact that drugs increase dopamine levels means that the effects of them are even MORE pleasurable for them. so they are more likely to continue taking the drug
4 of 10
STRENGTH: **** & Bierut
they found a 50% heritability for alcohol dependency
5 of 10
STRENGTH: reliability of research
supporting research from animal studies and brain scans which have tight controls and standardised procedures
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STRENGTH: practical applications
applicable to recognising people that are likely to become addicted very early on and then preventions/treatments can be looked at
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WEAKNESS: generalisability of research
research from animal studies which cannot be fully generalisable to humans with drug addictions
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WEAKNESS: not 100% concordance rate
there isn't an 100% concordance rate for monozygotic twins who share 100% of their DNA which suggests that there are other causes of substance misuse other than genetics
9 of 10
WEAKNESS: reductionist
the brain is extremely complex and this explanation simplifies it to 1 gene/receptor (mu-opioid)
10 of 10

Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

Outline the mu-opioid receptors element of this explanation

Back

Mu-opioid receptors are thought to be linked to addiction and it has been found that drugs activate these receptors suggesting why people become addicted

Card 3

Front

Outline the addictive gene element of this explanation

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

Outline the susceptibility to substance misuse element of this explanation

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

STRENGTH: **** & Bierut

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
View more cards

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